Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:15:18.145Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A relict tropical forest bat assemblage from the early Miocene of the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (Castelló, Spain)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2020

Vicente D. CRESPO*
Affiliation:
División de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Universidad Nacional de la Plata Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo (CONICET), Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWALa Plata, Argentina. Museo Paleontológico de Alpuente, Avenida San Blas 17, 46178, Alpuente, Spain. Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, BOX 8460, 46018, Alginet, Spain.
Paloma SEVILLA
Affiliation:
Departamento de Paleontología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
Plini MONTOYA
Affiliation:
Departament de Botànica i Geologia, Universitat de València, 46100, Burjassot, Spain.
Francisco J. RUIZ-SÁNCHEZ
Affiliation:
Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, BOX 8460, 46018, Alginet, Spain. Departament de Botànica i Geologia, Universitat de València, 46100, Burjassot, Spain. INCYT-UPSE, Universidad Peninsula de Santa Elena, EC240150, Santa Elena, Ecuador.
*
*Corresponding author Email: vidacres@gmail.com

Abstract

We present the bat assemblage from the early Miocene (MN4, 16.9–15.95 MY) basin of Ribesalbes-Alcora, which has yielded the remains of ten chiropteran taxa. Bat assemblages are rarely recovered in the fluvio-lacustrine fossil record. A bat species described in this work, Cuvierimops penalveri sp. nov., is a new form of a typically Oligocene free-tailed bat. In addition, the other molossids Hydromops helveticus, Rhizomops cf. brasiliensis, Chaerephon sp., Tadarida sp., and the vespertilionids Myotis cf. intermedius and Miostrellus aff. petersbuchensis, as well as undetermined fossils ascribed to the genera Submyotodon, Plecotus, and Rhinolophus are described. This is the first record of the genus Rhizomops in the early Miocene; the genus Cuvierimops is the first recording from the Neogene, while the ‘Lazarus taxon’ Chaerephon is the first fossil record of this genus, registered previously only in Holocene deposits. This bat assemblage with a high abundance of molossids is typical from the early Oligocene of western Europe, while in the early Miocene from Europe the molossids are scarce. The abundance of these bats is consistent with the presence of a tropical forest surrounding a paleolake. The fossils from the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin represent the most complete bat assemblage of the Iberian Peninsula during this age, and significantly increase our knowledge about the early Miocene bats of Europe.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

7. References

Aguilar, J. P., Brandy, L. D. & Thaler, L. 1984. Les rongeurs de Salobreña (Sud de l'Espagne) et le problème de la migration Messinienne. Paléobiologie Continentale 14, 317.Google Scholar
Agustí, J., Anadón, P., Ginsburg, L., Mein, P. & Moissenet, E. 1988. Araya et Mira: nouveaux gisements de mammifères dans le Miocène inférieur-moyen des Chaînes Ibériques orientales et méditerranéennes. Conséquences stratigraphiques et structurales. Paleontologia i Evolució 22, 83101.Google Scholar
Agustí, J., Santos-Cubedo, A., Furió, M., De Marfá, R., Blain, H. A., Oms, O. & Sevilla, P. 2011. The late Neogene-early Quaternary small vertebrate succession from the Almenara-Casablanca karst complex (Castellón, Eastern Spain): chronologic and paleoclimatic context. Quaternary International 243, 183–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alcalá, L., Sesé, C., Herráez, E. & Adrover, R. 1991. Mamíferos del Turoliense inferior de Puente Minero (Teruel, España). Boletín de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural, Sección Geológica 86, 205–51.Google Scholar
Álvarez-Sierra, M., García-Paredes, I., Hoek Ostende, L., Meulen, A. J., Peláez-Campomanes, P. & Sevilla, P. 2006. The middle Aragonian (Middle Miocene) micromammals from La Retama (Intermediate Depression, Tagus Basin) province of Cuenca, Spain. Estudios Geológicos 62, 401–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ammerman, L. K., Lee, D. N. & Tipps, T. M. 2012. First molecular phylogenetic insights into the evolution of free-tailed bats in the subfamily Molossinae (Molossidae, Chiroptera). Journal of Mammalogy 93, 1228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anadón, P. 1983. Características generales de diversas cuencas lacustres terciarias con pizarras bituminosas del NE de la Península Ibérica. X Congreso Nacional de Sedimentología 1, 912.Google Scholar
Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Gregorin, R., Schlitter, D. A. & Walker, A. 2002. The oldest African molossid bat cranium (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22, 380–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrón, E., Rivas-Carballo, R., Postigo-Mijarra, J. M., Alcalde-Olivares, C., Vieira, M., Castro, M., Pais, L. & Valle-Hernández, M. 2010. The Cenozoic vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula: a synthesis. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 162, 382402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baudelot, S. 1972. Étude des chiroptères, insectivores et rongeurs du Miocène de Sansan (Gers). Unpublished PhD thesis, Université de Toulouse, France.Google Scholar
Benda, P. & Gaisler, J. 2015. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 12. Bat fauna of Afghanistan: revision of distribution and taxonomy. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae 79, 267458.Google Scholar
Bonaccorso, F. J. 1998. Bats of Papua New Guinea. Washington, D.C.: Conservation International.Google Scholar
Brown, E. E., Cashmore, D. D., Simmons, N. B. & Butler, R. J. 2019. Quantifying the completeness of the bat fossil record. Palaeontology 2019, 120.Google Scholar
Crespo, V. D. 2017. Los mamíferos del Mioceno Inferior de la Cuenca de Ribesalbes-Alcora (Castelló, España). Unpublished PhD thesis. Universitat de València, Spain.Google Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Sevilla, P., Mansino, S., Montoya, P. & Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. 2018a. Bats from the classical site of Venta del Moro (Late Miocene, Eastern Spain). Historical Biology 30, 317–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Furió, M., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. & Montoya, P. 2018b. A new species of Plesiodimylus (Dimylidae, Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Spain. Historical Biology 30, 360–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Fagoaga, A., Montoya, P. & Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. 2019a. Old-timers and newcomers: the shrews and heterosoricids from the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (East of Spain). Palaeontologia Electronica 22.3.64, 122.Google Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Marquina-Blasco, R., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. & Montoya, P. 2019b. An unusual insectivore assemblage from the early Miocene of southwestern Europe: the talpids and dimylids from the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin (Spain). Comptes Rendus Palevol 18, 407–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Suárez-Hernando, O., Murelaga, X., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. & Montoya, P. 2019c. Early Miocene mammal assemblages from the Campisano ravine in the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (E Spain). Journal of Iberian Geology 45, 181–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crespo, V. D., Goin, F. J., Montoya, P. & Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. 2020. Early Miocene marsupialiforms, gymnures and hedgehogs from Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (Spain). Journal of Paleontology 94, 12131227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dam, J. & Rubio, E. S. 2003. Late Miocene and Pliocene small mammals from the Calatayud Basin (Central Spain). In López-Martínez, N., Peláez-Campomanes, P. & Hernández-Fernández, M. (eds) En torno a fósiles de mamíferos: datación, evolución y paleoambiente, Volumen en Honor de Remmert Daams. Coloquios de Paleontología, Special Issue 1, 115–26.Google Scholar
Eiting, T. P. & Gunnell, G. F. 2009. Global completeness of the bat fossil record. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 16, 151–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engesser, B. 1972. Die obermiozäne Säugetierfauna von Anwil (Baselland). Tätigkeitsbericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Baselland 28, 37363.Google Scholar
Fara, E. 2001. What are Lazarus taxa? Geological Journal 36, 291303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenton, M. B. 1983. Just bats. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortelius, M. 2016. New and Old Worlds database of fossil mammals (NOW). University of Helsinki. http://www.helsinki.fi/science/now/ (accessed 24 May 2016).Google Scholar
Fracasso, M. P. A., Oliveira-Salles, L. & Perini, F. A. 2011. Upper molar morphology and relationships among higher taxa in bats. Journal of Mammalogy 92, 421–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, P. W. 1981a. A multivariate study of the family Molossidae (Mammalian: Chiroptera) morphology, ecology, evolution. Fieldiana Zoology 7, 1173.Google Scholar
Freeman, P. W. 1981b. Correspondence of food habits and morphology in insectivorous bats. Journal of Mammalogy 62, 166–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furió, M., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J., Crespo, V. D., Freudenthal, M. & Montoya, P. 2012. The southernmost Miocene occurrence of the last European herpetothetiid Amphiperatherium frequens (Metatheria, Mammalia). Comptes Rendus Palevol 11, 371–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunnell, G. F., Eiting, T. P. & Geraads, D. 2011. New late Pliocene bats (Chiroptera) from Ahl al Oughlam, Morocco. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie 260, 5571.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunnell, G. F., Smith, R. & Smith, T. 2017. 33 Million year old Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) and the rapid global radiation of modern bats. PLoS ONE 12, e0172621.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hand, S. J. 1990. First Tertiary molossid (Microchiroptera: Molossidae) from Australia: its phylogenetic and biogeographic implications. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 28, 175–92.Google Scholar
Hill, J. E. & Smith, J. D. 1984. Bats: a natural history. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Hoek Ostende, L. W., Álvarez-Sierra, M. A., García-Paredes, I., Montoya, P., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J. & Peláez-Campomanes, P. 2017. Alto de Ballester, biogeographical consequences of atypical MN3 micromammal assemblages from eastern Spain. Palaeontographica Abteilung, Serie A 308, 127–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horáček, I. 2001. On the early history of vespertilionid bats in Europe: the Lower Miocene record from the Bohemian Massif. Lynx 32, 123–54.Google Scholar
Lack, J. B., Roehrs, Z. P., Stanley, C. E., Ruedi, M. & Bussche, R. A. 2010. Molecular phylogenetics of Myotis indicate familial-level divergence for the genus Cistugo (Chiroptera). Journal of Mammalogy 91, 976–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Legendre, S. 1984a. Étude odontologique des représentants actuels du groupe Tadarida (Chiroptera, Molossidae). Implications phylogéniques, systématiques et zoogéographiques. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 91, 399442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Legendre, S. 1984b. Identification de deux sous-genres fossiles et compréhension phylogénique du genre Mormopterus (Molossidae, Chiroptera). Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Série 2, 715–20.Google Scholar
Legendre, S. 1985. Molossidés (Mammalia, Chiroptera) cénozoiques de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Monde; statut systématique; intégration phylogénique de données. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 170, 205–27.Google Scholar
Maitre, E. 2014. Western European middle Eocene to early Oligocene Chiroptera: systematics, phylogeny and palaeoecology based on new material from the Quercy (France). Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 133, 141242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansino, S., Crespo, V. D., Lázaro, M., Ruiz-Sánchez, F. J., Abella, J. & Montoya, P. 2016. Fossil micromammals of the early Pliocene locality of Almenara MB: biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology 31, 251–70.Google Scholar
Martínez-Salanova, J. 1987. Estudio paleontológico de los micromamíferos del Mioceno Inferior de Fuenmayor (La Rioja). Publicaciones del Instituto Estudio Riojanas: Logroño, Spain.Google Scholar
Mein, P. 1999. European Miocene mammal biochronology. In Rössner, G. & Heissig, K (eds) The Miocene land mammals of Europe, 2538. Munich: Verlang Dr. Friedrich Pfeil.Google Scholar
Mein, P. 2000. La biochronologie des mammifères néogènes d'Europe. L’échelle MN, son application à la succession des faunes du Portugal. Ciências da Terra (UNL) 14, 335–42.Google Scholar
Menu, H. & Popelard, J. B. 1987. Utilisation des caracteres dentaires pour la determination des vespertilionines de l'ouest Europeen. Le Rhinolophe 4, 188.Google Scholar
Meulen, A. J., García-Paredes, I., Álvarez-Sierra, , Hoek Ostende, L. W., Hordijk, K., Oliver, A., López-Guerrero, P., Hernández-Ballarín, V. & Peláez-Campomanes, P. 2012. Updated Aragonian biostratigraphy: small mammal distribution and its implications for the Miocene European Chronology. Geologica Acta 10, 159–79.Google Scholar
Murelaga, X., Astibia, H., Sesé, C., Soria, D. & Pereda-Suberbiola, X. 2004a. Mamíferos del Mioceno Inferior de las Bardenas Reales de Navarra (Cuenca del Ebro, Península Ibérica). Munibe. Ciencias Naturales 55, 7102.Google Scholar
Murelaga, X., Larrasoaña, J. C. & Garcés, M. 2004b. Nueva localidad fosilífera en el Mioceno Inferior de las Bardenas Reales de Navarra (Cuenca del Ebro, Península Ibérica). Geogaceta 36, 179–82.Google Scholar
Murelaga, X., Pérez-Rivarés, F. J., Vázquez-Urbez, M. & Zuluaga, M. C. 2008. Nuevos datos bioestratigráficos y paleoecológicos del Mioceno Medio (Aragoniense) del área de Tarazona de Aragón (Cuenca del Ebro, provincia de Zaragoza, España). Ameghiniana 45, 393406.Google Scholar
Norberg, U. M. & Rayner, J. M. V. 1987. Ecological morphology and flight in bats (Mammalia; Chiroptera): wing adaptations, flight performance, foraging strategy and echolocation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 316, 335427.Google Scholar
Owen, R. D., Chesser, R. K. & Carter, D. C. 1990. The systematic status of Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephali and Antillean members of the Tadarida brasiliensis group with comments on the generic name Rhizomops Legendre. Occasional Papers, Museum, Texas Technical University.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pons-Moyà, J., Moyà-Solà, M. S., Agustí, J. & Alcover, J. A. 1981. La fauna de mamíferos de los yacimientos menorquines con Geochelone gymnesica (Bate, 1914). Nota Preliminar. Acta Geológica Hispánica 16, 129–30.Google Scholar
Richardson, P. 1993. Bats. London: Whittet Books Ltd.Google Scholar
Ríos, M. 2013. Estudio multi-isotópico de la paleoecología y la paleoclimatología de la Cuenca de Ribesalbes-Alcora (Castellón, España) durante el Óptimo Climático del Mioceno. Unpublished MSc Thesis, Universitat de València, Spain.Google Scholar
Robles, F., Belinchón, M., García-Flor, J. & Morales, J. 1991. El Neógeno continental de Buñol y del valle del río Cabriel. In De Renzi, M., Márquez-Aliaga, A. & Usera, J. (eds) El estudio de la Forma Orgánica y sus consecuencias en Paleontología Sistemática, Paleoecología y Paleontología Evolutiva, Revista Española de Paleontología, Special Issue, 205–15.Google Scholar
Rosina, V. V., Kruskop, S. & Semenov, Y. 2019. New Late Miocene plecotine bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae: Plecotini) from Gritsev, Ukraine. Palaeovertebrata 42, e2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosina, V. V. & Rummel, M. 2012. The bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Petersbuch (Bavaria, Southern Germany). Geobios 45, 463–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosina, V. V. & Semenov, Y. A. 2012. New taxa of vespertilionid bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Ukraine. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie-Abhandlungen 264, 191203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruedi, M., Stadelmann, B., Gager, Y., Douzery, E. J. P., Francis, C. M., Lin, L. K., Guillé- Servent, A. & Cibois, A. 2013. Molecular phylogenetic reconstruction identify East Asia as the cradle for the evolution of the cosmopolitan genus Myotis (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69, 437–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruedi, M., Csorba, G., Lin, L. K. & Chou, C. H. 2015. Molecular phylogeny and morphological revision of Myotis Bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Taiwan and adjacent China. Zootaxa 3920, 301–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sesé, C. 1986. Chiroptera (Mammalia) del yacimiento del Mioceno Medio de Escobosa de Calatañazor (Soria, España). Estudios Geológicos 42, 3340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sevilla, P. 1988. Estudio paleontológico de los Quirópteros del Cuaternario español. Paleontologia i Evolució 22, 113233.Google Scholar
Sevilla, P. 1990. Rhinolophoidea (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from the Upper Oligocene of Carrascosa del Campo (Central Spain). Geobios 23, 173–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sevilla, P. 2002. Quirópteros fósiles del Aragoniense medio de Casetón (Teruel, España). Revista Española de Paleontología 17, 257–68.Google Scholar
Sigé, B. 1995. Le Garouillas et les sites contemporains (Oligocène,MP25) des Phosphorites du Quercy (Lot, Tarn-et-Garonne, France) et leurs faune de vertébrés. 5.Chiroptères. Palaeontographica 236, 77124.Google Scholar
Sigé, B., Aguilar, J. P., Matandat, B. & Astruc, J. G. 1991. Extension au Miocène inférieur des remplissages phosphatés du Quercy. La faune de vertébrés de Crémat (Lot, France). Geobios 24, 497502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigé, B. & Legendre, S. 1983. L'histoire des peuplements de chiroptères du bassin Méditerranéen: l'apport comparé des remplissages karstiques et des dépôts fluvio-lacustres. Mémoires de Biospéologie 10, 209–25.Google Scholar
Simmons, N. B. 2005. An Eocene big bang for bats. Science (New York, N.Y.) 307, 527–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzenberger, F., Strelkov, P. P., Winkler, H. & Haring, E. 2006. A preliminary revision of the genus Plecotus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) based on genetic and morphological results. Zoologica Scripta 35, 187230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storch, G. 1999. Order Chiroptera. In Rössner, G. E. & Heissig, K. (eds) The Miocene land mammals of Europe, 8190. Munich: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil.Google Scholar
Teeling, E. C., Springer, M. S., Madsen, O., Bates, P., O'Brien, S. J. & Murphy, W. J. 2005. A molecular phylogeny for bats illuminates biogeography and the fossil record. Science (New York, N.Y.) 307, 580–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Topál, G. 1989. Tertiary and early Quaternary remains of Corynorhinus and Plecotus from Hungary (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Vertebrata Hungarica 23, 3355.Google Scholar
Vaughan, N., Jones, G. & Harris, S. 1997. Habitat use by bats (Chiroptera) assessed by means of a broad-band acoustic method. Journal of Applied Ecology 34, 716–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vianey-Liaud, M., Comte, B., Marandat, B., Peigne, S., Rage, J. C. & Sudre, J. 2014. A new early Late Oligocene(MP26) continental vertebrate fauna from Saint-Privat-des-Vieux (Alès Basin, Gard, Southern France). Geodiversitas 36, 565622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, A. L. & Harris, S. 1996. Foraging habitat preferences of Vespertilionid bats in Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 508–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, R. 1993. Die Chiroptera (Mammalia) aus dem Untermiozan von Wintershof-West bei Eichstatt (Bayern). Mitteilungen der Bayerische Staatssammlung für Palaontologie und Historische Geologie 33, 119–54.Google Scholar
Ziegler, R. 1994. Die Chiroptera (Mammalia) aus dem Untermiozän von Stubersheim 3 (Baden-Württemberg). Münchner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, Serie A 26, 97116.Google Scholar
Ziegler, R. 2000. The bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from the Late Oligocene fissure fillings Herrlingen 8 and Herrlingen 9 near Ulm (Baden- Württemberg). Senckenbergiana Lethaea 80, 647–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, R. 2003. Bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from Middle Miocene karstic fissure fillings of Petersbuch near Eichstätt, Southern Franconian Alb (Bavaria). Geobios 36, 447–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmer, K. D., Hanson, M. A. & Butler, M. G. 2000. Factors influencing invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands: a multivariate approach. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, 7685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar